Almost immediately, a feeling of distaste and hate for this dragon came to him. Celest came up out of the burrow, but didnt see the dragon at first. " What is it, Akima? Whats wrong?"

Akima's head snapped down at her. He hadnt known she was there. "Celest, get back. This is not a safe time." He heard a growl behind him, and turned in time to see the dragon start to rush at him. HE had just enough time to create a small psywave to push her back. "Celest, get out of here! This dragon is a grave danger! GO!" He locked eyes with the figure in front of him, and he could see the evil emanating from her. She reared back, and launched a blast of white-hot flame towards him, which he had no time to block. HE
crossed his arms in front of him to shield the flame, but it still injured him badly.

Celest, meanwhile, had shrunk back when Akima yelled. He never yelled. But now, as she watched the fight begin to get deadly, she saw that Akima needed help. She ran forward, headlong, straight towards the dragon's leg, head down. She rammed her horn as far into the dragon's leg as she could get it. Repeatedly, she rammed the leg, injecting her poison again and again. The she-dragon grimaced as the poison began to react with the toxins and reagents in her own blood. She kicked her leg out, catching Celest in the head and flinging her back. The nidoran landed on her head. A nasty crack was heard, and she lay there, with her neck twisted back at an odd angle.

Akima was stunned. "CELEST!!" MAdness overtook him at that sight. He turned to the dragon, and rushed towards her, completely enraged. A powerful psychic wave advanced in front of him as he rushed, taking
the dragon by surprise. Another wave advanced from him; An attack that combined the three elements of water, fire, and electricity. The elemental blast hit the she-dragon head-on, and knocked her unconscious. Looming over her fallen body, Akima bent down low, and looked into her eyes. For the first time a cold, calculating mind shone through behind Akima's ice-blue eyes. "You will die, dragon... For killing the one I loved, you will suffer... For attacking me, you were attacked. But for killing her..." He grabbed her head, and with a combination of mental and psychic strength, twisted with all his will, snapping her neck. "For killing her... you will be killed..."

The dragon's chest heaved again and again as she struggled in vain to take a breath. Her eyes rolled upwards to focus painfully on Akima's cold face, and she opened her mouth as if to say something.
No words came; only a choking gasp, then silence. Her eyes, still staring up at Akima's face, were lifeless now.

He used his powers to teleport the body underground. No need in being destroyed after death. Dishonour wasnt part of his life. He turned, and looked for Celest. He didn't know where she landed, but he found her quick. She was still alive... barely. He rushed to her, and knelt down and carefully picked her up into his arms. A pained smile came over his face as he started to talk. "Hey.. how you doin?"

Her eyes fluttered once, then slowly opened. Her breath was short and ragged. She smiled. "H..hey... N-not good... im a-fraid. It.. d..doesnt hurt any..more, though." Akima struggled to keep a smile. A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Th-thats good. At.. least it doesnt hurt..." He shut his eyes tight to try to keep from crying. Then, a thought came to him. The humans! They could save her. They could keep her alive! "Come on, Celest. We're going to get help." Celest had passed out. He stood up, and remembering the decadent
place where he was born, he teleported back to the laboratory.

Dr. Ravito was directing the doctors in the lab on another project. "Careful, we want her balanced. Dont make her like Akima." The doctors hurriedly answered. "Yessir." Ravito thought to himself. Maybe this time we wont fail... ~BUT THEN AGAIN, MAYBE YOU WILL.~

"Wha?" Ravito looked around. Who said that? "Hey, Kyoko. Come here." ONe of the doctors came forward. "Yes?" Ravito looked around. "Did you hear that?" Kyoko shook her head. "No, sir." Ravito nodded. "Ok."

"Hmm..." He closed his eyes and scratched his chin. When he looked back up, the towering figure in front of him sent him reeling backwards. "Surprise... I need to talk to you, now." Akima's cold
stare pierced a hole straight through Ravito's heart. "S..sure. Hold on a second..."

He started to move towards the alarm, but he was stopped by Akima'a arm and tail. "It would be in your best interest if you didn't touch that. I came here for your help on my own. Peacefully. I can change
that real quick." Ravito slowly stood to face his former creation, and then noticed the other that he held in his arms. She was clearly injured, and badly. The sight touched the small part of sympathy left in Ravito's heart. "Oh... Im sorry. I did not see her... Please, this way."
Ravito signaled for the other doctors to abandon the project and help with Akima. HE started firing off orders as they moved. "OK, first thing is we need to get her stable. Thats most important, is keep her
alive." Celest was put on a table, then hooked to various monitors. Akima hovered above them, watching carefully for any form of treachery. Ravito carefully examined her body. "Her spinal column has
been shattered. Whatever did this wanted to be sure that--" "Can she be saved?!" Akima grabbed Ravito's collar and pulled him close. He supressed the urge to yell as he talked. "Spare me the off-subject
explanation. Just tell me if she can be saved!"

Ravito's heart raced as he thought of what to say. "... As she is, no. She cannot be saved. You want it straight, well here it is: She is paralyzed from the neck down. This isnt an effect of attack. It cant be cured by a Heal or a Paralyzing healant. Her neck was snapped in two. All the HEal would do is end pain. She wont walk, she wont talk, and she wont be able to breathe on her own. I can even give you a time of death. She has three hours to live." Akima rocked back like he had been hit by a truck. Ravito looked at him with sorrow. "You wanted it straight... Im sorry. But.." Akima looked up. "But what?"

"I can save her. But she will never be the same..."